Chancel repair liability and insurance

cacti

I am buying a house and the conveyancer has mentioned Chancel Repair to which the property may be liable becuase it falls into the area of such a church. He suggested we might like to take out insurance. I have read about this liabiltiy before and also looked it up on the internet. I would like to know if anyone has actually taken out insurance for this, and the whys and wherefores of this. My first reaction is not to take out insurance because I am strongly againts paying anything, however indirectly, to a church. Let the believers take care of it themselves.

nonnatus

We paid it last year when we bought our place. Our Solicitor was pretty adamant that we pay it, cost about £35 I believe, which wasn't a great amount in the bigger scheme of things and kept the sale moving along at a nice pace.


I'm sure you can't be FORCED to pay it, but then you take a chance - any churches nearby that look to be a bit wobbly??

cacti

I can't think of any churches nearby at all. The house is on the edge of a small town which has several churches. They look ok to me but what do I know? Is the insurance a one off payment which lasts for years? The solicitor mentioned £31 in his letter. Not much, I know, but it seems absolutely crazy in this day and age to be paying to insure against having to contribute to a church I have never, and will never, set foot in. It would be against my beliefs to pay anything to a church, I am an atheist.

Dave_the_Ginger_Cat

First off, you'd be paying to the insurer not to the church. It is to insure you against claims from the church in the future or the subsequent owners of the land.

It could be church owned land or formerly church owned land, and will date back years.

When I bought, there is an embassy close by which occupies a former church, and because of the way the deeds of the former church are written there is tehcnically a possible future claim. I'd rather pay a nominal value now to protect me in the future.

It may not be your choice - if you are borrowing your lender are likely to insist on it

Sorry it's not what you want to hear

cacti

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate that I am paying to an insurer but if the church had not put the screws on some unfortunate people several years ago who ended up with a huge bill, I would not have to pay it all. There is no mortgage on the property so it is entirely up to us whether to pay or not. What is one more thing to keep me awake amidst all the other things to do with this selling and buying houses lark? Thanks again.

TBagpuss

Given the recent changes in the rules (as of October 2013) it is worth asking for clarification - as I understand it, any liability should now be registered against the property

cattie

I paid for it when I bought my flat as the vendor's (executor sale) refused to cough up for it & I'd heard one or two nightmare stories about buyers being stung for absolutely thousands of pounds for chancel repair.

However, as Tbagpuss mentions, the rules were to be changed in Oct 2013 so worth reading up about it & then being guided by your solicitor. After all, good advice about such things is part of what you are paying them for.

TBagpuss

just to add - it also depends what type of property / location it is. As I recall, the people who got stuck paying £1,000's were where there were only one or two houses in village locations, which were subject to the charge.
If you have a house in a town where any charge would be split between 10,000 or 15,000 homeowners then each individual's liability would very much lower.

Land_Registry

Chancel repair liability is a topic much discussed in online forums and there are several other threads on MSE

You may like to read one of our current blogs on the subject which may assist in understanding the history whereby such liabilities arose and the current situation with regards registration.

As others have mentioned I would be asking my solicitor to explain why such insurance is required and any risks involved in not taking it out. Your lender (if any) would also have a view as mentioned.

PollyOnAMission

I paid for it (£17) when I completed on my house just before Christmas. My solicitor explained to me that, although the rules changed in October therefore any liability should now be registered, a backlog in processing applications means they may not be on the system yet. The insurance covers you for that risk.

Personally I thought it was worth the small fee, despite the very small risk!

Richard_Webster

Your solicitor will have copies of the Land Registry entries presumably not showing any specific Chancel Rights. Before completion he will do a search and if they are still not shown then since 13/10/2013 you take free of any liability so can't see why anyone is suggesting insurance now for a new buyer.